1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to the field of display units and/or crew alerting units that provide flight and/or ground information to the pilot or flight crew of an aircraft.
2. Description of the Related Art
On Aug. 27, 2006, Comair Flight 191 was scheduled to fly from Lexington, Ky. to Atlanta, Ga., United States. Prior to takeoff from Lexington, the aircraft was assigned Runway 22 for takeoff, a runway 7,003 feet in length; however, the aircraft attempted to takeoff from Runway 26, a runway 3,500 feet in length. Based upon an estimated takeoff weight of 49,087 pounds and through the use of performance equations, the manufacturer calculated that 3,744 feet of runway would have been needed in order for the aircraft to reach its rotation speed of 138 knots with more runway needed to achieve lift-off. Because there was insufficient runway distance for takeoff, the aircraft crashed at the end of the runway, and 49 people onboard the aircraft perished.
The National Transportation Safety Board (“NTSB”) determined that the probable cause for the incident was the flight crew members' failure to use available cues and aids to identify the aircraft's location on the airport surface during taxi and their failure to cross-check and verify that the aircraft was on the correct runway before takeoff. The NTSB attributed part of the accident to loss of positional awareness which is synonymous with situational awareness.
On the evening of Oct. 28, 2006, Continental Flight 1883 was a scheduled flight from Orlando, Fla. to Newark, N.J. At the end of the flight, the aircraft mistakenly landed of a taxiway at Newark Liberty International Airport about 30 minutes after sunset. The NTSB determined that the probable cause for the incident was the flight crew's misidentification of the parallel taxiway as the active runway.
On Sep. 13, 2008, a Hong Kong Airlines B-737-800 attempted to takeoff from a taxiway at Hong Kong International Airport rather than a runway. An air traffic controller raised the alarm when he saw the B-737-800 hurling down a taxiway parallel to the airport's north runway. The controller radioed the pilot and alerted him in time for him to abort the takeoff after approximately 500 meters.
Airport complexity, approach patterns, airborne and surface traffic, and on-time departure/arrival pressures are some of the factors which can make flying a real challenge for today's pilots. Significant improvements in avionics technologies have helped to improve the aviation safety record. Despite many improvements, situational awareness of the runway environment still remains a significant safety issue.